Planning a Trip to Germany: How We Found Ourselves in Munich

Written byKristin

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We’re back from our European follies, and I have so much to tell you, but I’m hoping you won’t mind if I go out of order a bit and start with the ending (Maria von Trapp née Rainer may say it’s not a good place to start, but I beg to differ). You see, this week marks the best time of year in Munich—it’s Oktoberfest, obviously—and while we missed out on it by mere days, I have very fond memories of my own time at Germany’s biggest brew-ha-ha (get it?).

In fact, once I found out that Oktoberfest started this weekend, I considered changing our return flight home and extending the trip a bit. After all, we both absolutely love Munich and who wouldn’t want to camp out there for a month? Alas, we had a puppy back home and were already experiencing withdrawals on day 2, so return to Tennessee we did.

Don’t feel sorry for us. We drank more than our share of beers in Germany without Oktoberfest.

The funny thing about Germany is that I never had a desire to go there as a kid or even a young, impressionable college traveler. When I went abroad alone for the first time in 2007, I did so with a five-country rail pass, and my route started in England, then cruised down the Channel via the EuroStar, then stopped in Paris for a week, then onto Vienna before snaking back to Italy, Switzerland and Spain. Germany wasn’t even a contender.

And then I had to get off and switch trains in Munich, and I thought, “what the Hell? Might as well check it out while I’m here.”

Five days later, I was sold. This was one of the greatest cities in Europe, no contest.

And after multiple trips to various parts of Deutschland, it easily ranks up there among my favorite countries in the world.

You may have seen me mention what a pain in the arse this particular family trip was to organize, not because of the participants but rather the civil unrest in Turkey. Originally, we were flying in and out of Istanbul and spending the last week exploring the former Ottoman empire. But Fate had other plans for us, and after one bombing too many, we ate the cost of our tickets and rebooked new flights entirely that had us flying round-trip from Atlanta to Budapest (if you’re interested, Fox News interviewed me about the headache we experienced attempting to cancel our Turkish Air tickets via Expedia to no avail). And while I love my family dearly, after shepherding seven people around Europe for two weeks, I knew I’d need a vacation from our vacation, which is why I allotted a third week for SVV and me to fly solo.

It turned out to be an excellent call.

But where would we go since Turkey was no longer an option and we didn’t want to spend a lot of money—or time—to travel somewhere on the other side of Europe? Our plans were all over the map. First, it was to somewhere in the Balkans. But there’s no reliable train service there and it would be hard to get around, not to mention take up a whole lot of time. Then, it was Poland because neither of us has been there. In the end, we settled on Munich—only, flights were too expensive to leave from there and fly home, so instead we flew from Bucharest (where we ended our cruise) to Vienna, rented a car and drove the five hours northwest to Germany where our wonderful friends Christoph, Anna and Leo were waiting for us, on the final days of their vacation back home visiting family.

So what is to love about Munich exactly? SO much. Pull up a chair and let me enlighten you.

There are green spaces scattered throughout the city. My big qualm with some cities is the concrete jungle aspect and lack of parks. Munich is situated along a river, the Isar, and everywhere you go, there’s a park or greenway within spitting distance. It’s simply the ideal base for an urban dweller who needs a little breathing room and some Mother Nature from time to time.

The locals bike everywhere. As someone who has never lived in a city conducive to biking (unless you count my year living in Holland and Denmark), this is a huge appeal to me. SVV and I have vowed to get each other bikes for Christmas, but I don’t really trust the Nashville drivers, so we’ll stick to country roads and trails within state parks.

It’s a big city with a small town feel. Christoph kept remarking how tiny Munich was. We came to find that there are 1.38 million in the city, maybe double that in the greater metro area. That’s the size of greater Davidson County in Nashville—not exactly what I call small! Then again, it’s a city that’s easy to become acquainted with in a short amount of time, and very easy to get around, too. Not sure if it’s because I’ve been there three times in the past 13 years or what, but I felt like I knew Munich pretty well by the time we left on this visit.

There’s a stellar art scene. You know I’m not much for museums, but I love the murals, installations and sculptures that are carefully woven throughout the cityscape.

The beer, oh the beer. All of our wandering throughout the 48 hours we were in Munich seemed to include a stop for beer every hour or so. As a newfound beer connoisseur who had never properly appreciated that part of Bavarian culture on past visits, I was OK with this.

There’s surfing! I know, right? You’re as shocked as I was.

It’s just plain gorgeous. Views around every corner. Soaring architecture. Pieces of history, living art.

Need I even mention the food? Sausages and pretzels and potatoes for daaaaaaays. Good thing I prepped for this trip with a proper Whole30 regimen!

Just as we hoped, Munich was the perfect way to spend a few lazy days after a somewhat stressful two weeks of having seven others in my care (travel agents and career tour guides, how on Earth do you do it?).

I’ll be giving you more specifics about our time in Bavaria on the next post, but I’m curious: Have you been to Munich before? Did you find it as enchanting as I have?

I lurrrv Munich! I was like you–never even thought to go there when I was studying abroad in Italy, and went there on a month of travel to meet up with school mates. Loved it so much I went back at the end of the month with another set of friends!

The food is delicious, the people so friendly, and frankly, it was such a dream, coming from Italy, where nothing ran on time or was semi-reliable, and everything, EVERYTHING in Munich seemed to be on time, clean, where you expected it to be, etc. I can’t wait to go back some day!

Agreed on unexpected destinations–low expectations are much easier to surpass! I also prefer Munich to Salzburg (though I don’t regret going on the silly Sound of Music tour with my brother and my German-American friend).

Munich is definitely my favorite place in Germany. I lived in Freiburg im Breisgau in the Black Forest the year I was there, but my mom’s best friend has lived in Munich for forty years. She, her husband, and her daughter give the best tours, and are always popping into cafes for a nice afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen, plus they’re musicians and journalists for Bavarian public radio, so they know everything that’s going on in the city. And there’s a lot.

Now I want to always tack on a trip to Munich when I’m flying to/through Europe! Pulled it off for Turkey, but not for Iceland. Next time!

The first time I went to Salzburg in 2003 solo, I loved it. I did ALL the Sound of Music attractions (don’t think I did the tour, though) and definitely don’t regret it. But now, going back as a slightly older (OK, a lot older) adult, I just couldn’t get into the magic. Had it been sunny and gorgeous and I’d gone on the tour this visit? Maybe that would have been different =)

I SO wanted to go to the Black Forest, but it was just too far away on this trip. We’re toying with the idea of pitching a month-long rail project over in Germany, so I’d love if that came to fruition. There are so many parts of it I’ve yet to explore or only scratched the surface!

I loved Oktoberfest in Munich, but I didn’t really love the city. I think my problem was 1) Not really knowing where to go (I probably could have done more research), and 2) I didn’t find it to be (as) historical as many other places in Europe.
I’ve felt this all three times I’ve visited Germany (Frankfurt, Munich, and Hamburg).
That being said, three of my closest friends are German and the people I enjoy working with most at work are German, so I think I’m ready to try it again. I’d love to do a winery trip to western Germany and explore the Christmas markets next time.

I totally know that feeling, Noelle. I had the exact same experience with Vienna on my first visit—no idea where to go, I was solo, the people weren’t friendly, etc. I had NO plans to ever go back, then I was living in Holland and my cousin in Vienna and I decided to join him for Christmas. And I LOVED it! He was a high school history teacher so seeing the city through a different lens definitely made me appreciate it more.

I hope you have a chance to go back to Munich someday and get a second opinion of it. I also love Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg, probably because they each have their own vibe, and for me Munich is great because of the Bavarian food, the myriad beer gardens and all that green space. For history, I’d go to Berlin (though there *are* plenty of sites with WWII significance in Munich, too).

Love Munich! I have also been so pleasantly surprised by Germany. When i was younger, I had no interest – send me to Paris any day. Now, I’m obsessed. I’ve been just a few times, and my fave place is probably Berlin, but I also adored Heidelberg. Just add them to your list if they aren’t already there 🙂

Julie, I’m, so excited about your continent-wide road trip! Looks like you’re hitting up some of the places we just went. And Berlin ties Munich as my favorite German city (they’re both probably in my top 10 worldwide) but I need to add Heidelberg to the list!

We’ve only been to Munich once but had a really special experience when we went. One of our host daughters (C) lives there, and we spent the day with her and her mom, who showed us all of their favorite places in the city. C hangs out at the surfing park with her friends after school, so not only did she show us the surfers, but she showed us where they hang out by the water. They made us a traditional German breakfast at their home and took us to their favorite restaurant for lunch. We walked through the Olympic park area and they pointed out different sites we could see from there. The city is definitely charming, but I felt much more connected with it because C was sharing her home with us. I can’t wait to return.

But seriously, how cool is that surfing park? And yours sounds similar to ours—the local experience makes any trip that much more special/memorable, doesn’t it? Please tell me you ate the white sausage!

I’d really like to explore more of Germany, but not with a huge group. Have only spent seven hours in Frankfurt. But it will have to wait for retirement as I don’t want to be there in the cold winter. Looks like a perfect place to regroup.

I’m so glad we were in Germany (relatively) by ourselves. It’s a great place to just get out and wander, and with the sense of safety and the overall efficiency, an excellent country in general for solo travel.

I’ve never been to Munich before but now that you’ve raved about it, I’m intrigued. This seems to be the trend on how to get cities on my list – listen to Kristin’s recommendations :p

I also really want to know how you organized your family trip! I’m thinking of doing the same thing with mine next Fall, covering largely the same areas (Eastern Europe, Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic). Any info from you is much much appreciated!

HA! I love that. I should start a Camels & Chocolate equivalent to Zagat or Michelin 😉

That trip itinerary of yours sounds AWESOME. I endorse all those places (though I haven’t been to Poland!). I’ll be writing more about Eastern Europe over the next month and change (including planning tips, budgets, etc.), but feel free to email me with questions when you start planning!

I love cities with lots of green space (minus the twigs and berries, lol!) – one of the many things that surprised me about Mexico City was all the parks and trees. I haven’t been to Germany, but it’s definitely on the list!